Locusts and Darkness

I apologize for the brief hiatus, my weekends have been crazier than normal lately.

Shemot (Exodus) 10:1-2 "Now Yahuah said to Moses, 'Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am Yahuah."

Unfortunately, though the Egyptians are stubborn, the Israelites come to be known in the future as a "stiff-necked people" who have a very hard time remembering things, even if they're insane and unbelievable wonders the likes of which are physically impossible for anyone to repeat.

Shemot 10:3-6 "So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, 'Thus says Yahuah Elohim of the Hebrews: "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians - which neither your fathers nor your fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day."' And he turned and went out from Pharaoh."

Telling the most powerful man on the planet at the time he needs to humble himself... That won't do much of anything except make him more stubborn, don't you think?

Shemot 10:7 "Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, 'How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahuah their Elohim. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?'"

Somebody has a head on their shoulders! I wonder if they got through to Pharaoh...

Shemot 10:8-11 "So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, 'Go, serve Yahuah your Elohim. Who are the ones that are going?' And Moses said, 'We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to Yahuah.' Then he [Pharaoh] said to them, 'Yahuah had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve Yahuah, for that is what you desired.' And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence."

Sorry Pharaoh, Yahuah needs Moses to get everyone out of Egypt. Methinks that was pretty obvious from the get-go...

Shemot 10:12-15 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land - all the hail has left.' So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahuah brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt."

Joseph's not here anymore to save you, Egypt. Even if he was, I doubt he would be on your side.

Shemot 10:16-20 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, 'I have sinned against Yahuah your Elohim and against you. Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat Yahuah your Elohim, that He may take away from me this death only.' So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahuah. And Yahuah turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. But Yahuah hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go."

In Egyptian mythology, when a person dies and is on their way to the afterlife, their heart is put on a mythical scale and weighed against a feather. If the person's heart did not change the weight of the scale, then he could go on to the afterlife and live (or rather, be dead) happily ever after with all their after-lifey-gods and dead relatives and friends and whatnot. If the person's heart weighed more than the feather, he would be fed to this weird alligator/lion thing. I wonder whether this Pharaoh considered his own mythology and his own beliefs that his soul might be eaten by a alligator/lion?

Shemot 10:21-23 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.' So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings."

The head Egyptian god was the god of the sun. Yahuah just declared His dominance over the one the Egyptians thought was most powerful, most dependable. Hence, the general depression/lethargy of the nation. Plus, there's also the fact that no one wants to bump into things and/or get lost in the dark.

Shemot 10:24-29 "Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, 'Go, serve Yahuah, only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.' But Moses said, 'You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to Yahuah our Elohim. Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve Yahuah our Elohim, and even we do not know with what we must serve Yahuah until we arrive there.' But Yahuah hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. Then Pharaoh said to him, 'Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!' So Moses said, 'You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.'"

There is only one plague left to go, and it is the straw that broke the camel's back. The Israelites will be out of Egypt very soon, but

Death of Egyptian Livestock, Breakouts of Boils, Thundering Hail

Trying another new variation of the Bible today... Still NKJV, but I'm using Blue Letter Bible.

Shemot (Exodus) 9:1-4 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, "Thus says Yahuah Elohim of the Hebrews: 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them, behold, the hand of Yahuah will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep--a very severe pestilence. And Yahuah will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.'"'"

Yahuah is understanding that some livestock belong to the Egyptians and some belong to the Israelites, and thus he is not killing the livestock belonging to the Israelites. We noted that the Egyptians are starting to convert and believe in Yahuah as the one true Elohim. Do you think those Egyptians' livestock were saved?

Shemot 9:5-7 "Then Yahuah appointed a set time, saying, 'Tomorrow Yahuah will do this thing in the land.' So Yahuah did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go."

Still pondering if the Egyptian converts' livestock are still around... One of my teachers suggested a paraphrase from the movie Forrest Gump: "Israelite is as Israelite does." Maybe Yahuah accepted the converts as adopted children of Israel.

Shemot 9:8-12 "So Yahuah said to Moses and Aaron, 'Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 'And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt. Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. But Yahuah hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as Yahuah had spoken to Moses."

How stubborn is this Pharaoh? He's watched as the Nile turned to blood, frogs took over the land (they were probably still rotting at this point), flies, gnats, and locusts have come, all the livestock died, and now he and everyone else and the remaining animals are all covered in boils. And he's still not giving up. Why? I'm guessing he's trying to prove his dominance over his land. Problem with that is that he is neither dominant nor does he own any land. Everything is Yahuah's and Yahuah will do with it what He wants.

Shemot 9:13-19 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, "Thus says Yahuah Elohim of the Hebrews: 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me, for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.'"'"

 He's warning the Egyptians now so they know what to do about it if they believe in Him. It's not their fault their ruler is being stubborn. It's their fault if they decide they're stubborn too.

Shemot 9:20-21 "He who feared the word of Yahuah among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. But he who did not regard the word of Yahuah left his servants and his livestock in the field."

Aren't they kind of short on livestock at the moment? Shouldn't they maybe try to keep it safe? Oh well. At least we know that not all of them are stubborn.

Shemot 9:22-26 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt--on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.' And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and Yahuah sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And Yahuah rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail."

I would guess the fire that is being spoken of is actually lightening... Your thoughts?

Shemot 9:27-30 "And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'I have sinned this time. Yahuah is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. Entreat Yahuah, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.' So Moses said to him, 'As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahuah; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is Yahuah's. But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear Yahuah Elohim.'"

I learned that the Hebrew word for "sin" actually means "missing the mark." Think of archery, darts, or shooting a gun at a target. Missing the mark could mean that you not only miss the bull's eye, but also that you completely miss the target. Pharaoh needed to work on his aim.

Shemot 9:31-32 "Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops."

Good to know that Egypt won't completely die of starvation because of Pharaoh.

Shemot 9:33-35 "So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to Yahuah; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as Yahuah had spoken by Moses."

What will it take for him to let them go? Something worse than all the livestock getting sick and dying. Something worse than thundering hail killing any leftover livestock and workers in the fields. Something worse than the magicians (and everyone else) getting boils so bad they can't attempt to recreate them.

Piles of Frogs, Dust of Lice, and Clouds of Flies

This week is a little bit different... I currently live at my college, but I head home for the weekends. Usually, I don't forget anything at the dorm or at home (and if I do forget something, it's usually easily remedied by a quick trip to the local grocery store). However, today I'm sitting here in my room at home and I am without my Bible. Naturally, I have more than one copy of the Bible... I have the Complete Jewish bible, the Mechanical Translation of the Book of Genesis, The Scriptures, The Picture Bible, the Jewish New Testament, the Duct Tape Bible (I think it's the NIV...), and the New King James Version. I actually have two copies of the NKJV, but I've only ever used one when writing this blog. However, because I left it at my dorm, I'll be using my other copy. It's by a different publisher and it's a different size, text size, color, thickness, etc., even with different commentary. However, aside from the commentary, it has the same content. I don't know if it's divided up the same way though, so there's where the difference you might notice lies. I usually go paragraph by paragraph in my other NKJV, but I'm not sure if that will work as well with this one. We might have more or less commentary by me, but no worries.

Shemot (Exodus) 8:1-4 "And Yahuah spoke to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh and say to him, "Thus says Yahuah: 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedchamber, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all of your servants. '"'"

Why frogs? There is a lot of speculation regarding why these plagues were picked. Were they random or not? I'll let you draw your own conclusion, but keep in mind that the Egyptian fertility goddess was often depicted as a frog.

Shemot 8:5-7 "Then Yahuah spoke to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt."' So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt."

Ok, I understand Aaron is following orders to make frogs invade the land of Egypt. And I also understand that the magicians are trying to prove that the whole, "anything you can do, I can do better" thing. However, wouldn't it be a more effective use of their time to try getting rid of the frogs rather than try to create more?

Shemot 8:8-12 "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, 'Entreat Yahuah that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahuah.' And Moses said to Pharaoh, 'Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.' So he said, 'Tomorrow.' And he said, 'Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like Yahuah our Elohim. And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.' Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to Yahuah concerning the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh."

So the frogs are going to head back to the river, right?

Shemot 8:13-15 "So Yahuah did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as Yahuah had said."

Isn't that powerful? "Yahuah did according to the word of Moses." All Moses did was pray, and his prayer was answered. How fantastic is that?! Also, on a different note, no, the frogs did not head back to the river. They just croaked. Pardon the pun. So now the Egyptians have bloodstained riverbanks and dead frogs everywhere.

Shemot 8:16-19 "So Yahuah said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt."' And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of Elohim.' But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as Yahuah had said."

How about that? Yah is making believers out of Egyptians. Not just any Egyptians, but Egyptian magicians! How awesome is He who can make a believer out of a pagan! Also, on a random note, I wonder if frogs eat lice...

Shemot 8:20-24 "And Yahuah said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, "Thus says Yahuah: 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am Yahuah in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.'"' And Yahuah did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies."

Interesting that we do not hear of Israel being set apart before this. Possibly everyone had to suffer through a bloody river, frogs, and lice, but flies are for Egyptians only.

Shemot 8:25-28 "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, 'Go, sacrifice to Yahuah your Elohim in the land.' And Moses said, 'It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to Yahuah our Elohim. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahuah our Elohim as He will command us.' And Pharaoh said, 'I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahuah your Elohim in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.'"

Abomination of the Egyptians? Remember the reason why they're in Goshen in the first place? Because the Israelites were shepherds and sheep were considered an abomination to the Egyptians. Why? Who knows.

Shemot 8:29-32 "Then Moses said, 'Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat Yahuah, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahuah.' So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahuah. And Yahuah did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go."

That is one stubborn Pharaoh. You would think turning the Nile - the river that is their life source - into blood would be enough to make him let them go, but no. He had to be stubborn. So far we've only had smallish things (aside from the bloody river): frogs, lice, and flies. They're horrible, don't get me wrong, but they're not the worst that could happen. Things are going to get very bad very fast though, so sit tight and be thankful you're not an Egyptian at this period in their history.

The River Ran With Blood

Exodus (Shemot) 7:1-5 "So Yahuah said to Moses: 'See, I have made you as El to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgements. And the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahuah, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.'"

So... He's summing up what we already know. No problem, review's good!

Shemot 7:6-7 "Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as Yahuah commanded them, so they did. And Moses was eighty-years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh."

Gives you a bit of perspective, The Prince of Egypt was a bit off in making Moses and Aaron look 20-ish and 30-ish, respectively... So here's your dose of reality!

Shemot 7:8-10 "Then Yahuah spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 'When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, "Show a miracle for yourselves," then you shall say to Aaron, "Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent."' So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as Yahuah commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent."

Did you read that? It became a serpent. As in, a snake. Moses' staff turned into a snake.

Shemot 7:11-13 "But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as Yahuah had said."

Yeah... Methinks the Egyptian magicians had some smoke and mirrors... But the other snakes were eaten. They're trying to make a point, but Yahuah's work is more powerful than any magician.

Shemot 7:14-18 "So Yahuah said to Moses: 'Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. And you shall say to him, "Yahuah Elohim of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness' but indeed, until now you would not hear! Thus says Yahuah: 'By this you shall know that I am Yahuah. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.'"'"

Just so you know, the Egyptians worshiped the Nile. It was the lifeblood of the country, flooding its banks every year and depositing fertile silt for planting. If you look at a map of Egypt, you'll find that nearly all the greenery and life in the country is within just a few miles of the Nile's banks. Turning the water to blood and killing all the fish would devastate the Egyptians. Actually, it would devastate just about any community living on the banks of a river.

Shemot 7:19-21 "Then Yahuah spoke to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone."' And Moses and Aaron did so, just as Yahuah commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So their was blood throughout all the land of Egypt."

The average human's life depends on threes. A human can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and I think three weeks without food. Of course, there are naturally variations. For example, singers and swimmers with their large lungs may be able to last longer without air, while those of us who hunch our shoulders forward all the time (scrunching the lungs) might not be able to last the three. A person who knows what sort of food provides water sources (cactus, some fruit/veggies, etc) may be able to last more than three days, while someone who doesn't drink their 8 cups daily is already partly dehydrated. Food varies wildly depending on factors like metabolism, height, weight, average meal, but you can bet that anyone would be pretty hungry/starving after three weeks. If the water in the Nile isn't changed back from blood, the entire nation will die within just a few days. The plants will die, the animals will die, the whole place will be like a ghost-town. Or, more accurately, a ghost-country.

Shemot 7:22-25 "Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as Yahuah had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. And seven days passed after Yahuah had struck the river."

Naturally, it makes sense to dig a well or try your hand at distilling water when you find the water in the river is ridiculously impure... but honestly? Why in the world would the magicians waste some water by turning it to blood too? That stuff's precious!

Anyway, as far as homework, either the History or the Discovery Channel has some awesome videos about this particular event in history. They try to figure out when this occurred, if it is scientifically possible for ten unique plagues to hit, and especially within the time frame given, and a bunch of other pretty cool details. Check it out and let me know if you find anything interesting!

Tongue-Tied

Moses is a man on a mission! When last we read, the mission wasn't going very well, but let's see what's going on this time.

Shemot (Exodus) 6:1 "Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.'"

Drive them out? Sounds like the Israelites might not be leaving on very good terms...

Shemot 6:1-9 "And Elohim spoke to Moses and said to him: 'I am Yahuah. I have appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as Elohim Almighty, but by My name Yahuah I was not known to them. I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Therefore say to the children of Israel: "I am Yahuah; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your Elohim. Then you shall know that I am Yahuah your Elohim who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am Yahuah."' So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage."

Can you really blame them for not listening? They were minding their own business, building bricks for the Pharaoh's construction projects, everything wasn't fine, but it was endurable. Moses comes along and suddenly they have to make bricks, and now they're expected to listen to him? That's pretty tough...

Shemot 6:10-13 "And Yahuah spoke to Moses, saying, 'Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.' And Moses spoke before Yahuah, saying, 'The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?' Then Yahuah spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt."

Ok, we know circumcision is a surgery performed on baby boys, and the place where this surgery is performed is not on the face. What does he mean by uncircumcised lips? I looked up Exodus 6:12 on Blueletterbible.org, and found a bunch of different translations. Most of them phrase it in a way that basically means "I'm not eloquent, I get tongue tied, I have problems with speech." That makes more sense!

The rest of the chapter is recap and genealogy. You're welcome to read it on your own if you like, but you may find it either boring or redundant.

No song today! Take a look at The Prince of Egypt or The Ten Commandments and let me know what you think.

There is a Method to the Madness

So... I took a look at another version of Chapter 4, to find that verses 24-26 are roughly the same. Still don't know what to say about that, so let's move on the Chapter 5!

Shemot (Exodus) 5:1 "Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, 'Thus says Yahuah Elohim of Israel: "Let My people go, that they may hold a fast to Me in the wilderness."'"

I was pretty sure that Yahuah wanted them all out indefinitely... But okay, let's start small, shall we? As far as confronting Pharaoh this way... Pharaoh thought he was a god. Why would he believe anyone was mightier than him?

Shemot 5:2 "And Pharaoh said, 'Who is Yahuah, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know Yahuah, nor will I let Israel go.'"

Remember that bit last chapter when Yahuah was telling Moses that Pharaoh's heart would be hardened, and it would not be an easy job? Yeah... This is the first -and not the last- glimpse we get of his stubbornness.

Shemot 5:3 "So they said, 'The Elohim of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to Yahuah our Elohim, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.'"

This seems to be one of those adding insult to injury type things... The Hebrews are already down, is the Pharaoh going to kick them while they're laying there?

Shemot 5:4-5 "Then the king of Egypt said to them, 'Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor.' And Pharaoh said, 'Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!'"

Methinks Pharaoh is perfectly happy with the current status quo.Why would he want a change?

Shemot 5:6-9 "So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, 'You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle' therefore they cry out, saying, "Let us go and sacrifice to our Elohim." Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.'"

Remember that question I asked after 5:3? Looks like the answer is a yes.

Shemot 5:10-14 "And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, 'Thus says Pharaoh: "I will not give you straw. Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced."' So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, 'Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.' Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, 'Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?'"

As near as I can tell, there were two main components to making bricks back when this was happening. Part one, mud. Probably clay, or at least mud with clay. It's a bit stronger than plain mud, and it doesn't wash away in the rain as easily. ...Granted, it doesn't rain much in Egypt... But you get the idea. Part two, straw. Why straw? Well, have you ever taken a look at the materials used in making cement walls today? You have the frame, the cement, and these steel bars. The cement is poured around the steel, so the steel provides a lot of stability when it's all dry. The straw would do the same thing; provide stability. Think about it, dirt and clay alone will slide around when they get wet. If they're mixed with straw though, they'll stick to the straw and will hold together better.

Shemot 5:15-16 "The the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, 'Why are you dealing thus with your servants? There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, "Make brick!" And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.'"

By making the Israelites go and get their own straw, they're slowing production time immensely, plus the actual product probably won't be as strong when finished if the Israelites are too focused on quantity and not on quality. However... Mouthing off to the king of Egypt was probably a good way to get killed.

Shemot 5:17-19 "But he said, 'You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, "Let us go and sacrifice to Yahuah." Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.' And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, 'You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.'"

How to put this in perspective... Okay, imagine you work at a restaurant as a dishwasher. Every day, you have to wash all the dishes sparkling clean so they can be set out for the customers with their food. If your dishes are dirty, the customers will probably send their food back. Thus, your job is pretty important! Now, imagine you ask for a vacation because you've been washing all the dishes every day for years. Rather than give you the vacation, your employer decides, nope! You don't get a vacation, and you get to buy your own dish soap. Now imagine you can't quit the job; let's say there are literally no other jobs available and you have family depending on your paycheck. So, when your shift starts, you head to the store and buy some dish soap and head back to the restaurant to wash the dishes. Because you lost twenty minutes stopping at the store, you're now behind on dish washing and you can't get caught up. You can't meet your normal number of washed dishes and you start to do sloppy work to catch up. How does this story relate to the plight of the Hebrews? Neither your fictional self in the story, nor the Hebrews, were given the materials needed to complete your job, yet you were still expected to do so.

Shemot 5:20-21 "Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. And they said to them, 'Let Yahuah look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.'"

Basically, they already hate the Hebrews, don't give the Egyptians a reason to kill them all! The officers want to keep the peace. That is a noble cause, but Yahuah has plans for a much better peace than the one they have gotten used to.

Shemot 5:22-23 "So Moses returned to Yahuah and said, 'Yahuah, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have you delivered Your people at all.'"

What a sad note to end the chapter on. Just remember, Yahuah has a plan and there is a lot more Bible to read.

Song for the day: "Be Still" by Storyside:B

Eloquent

We'll be starting today where we left off yesterday, at Exodus chapter four. Just a reminder from the first couple posts is some vocabulary I'll probably be using...

I don't generally use the words God or Lord when writing, nor do I use the names of any of the pagan gods mentioned in the Bible. Why? Because it's my belief that to have a closer personal relationship with Him, I need to call Him by His name. Or at least, my understanding of His name. There were no vowels in ancient Hebrew, so it's very difficult to say exactly what His name is. Some call Him Jehovah, others say Yahweh; I say Yahuah because my father has spent a lot of time studying Paleo-Hebrew and he informed me that the first letter of His name, the Hebrew letter Vav, was a Waw originally. No "V" sound. Why don't I say the names of the pagan gods? Because I don't want to have any kind of relationship with them whatsoever. I understand that they existed as false-deities, and they actually influenced a lot of today's culture, but I don't want to know them by name. I use the name Yahuah in place of "The Lord" and Elohim or El (which both mean "God" in Hebrew) in place of God.

Another note: Who decided to call Him "The Lord"? Isn't "King" a step up from "Lord" as far as the hierarchy of a monarchy goes? I just don't think He should be given a name that is subordinate to anyone, especially on our concept of ranks. To bring this closer to home for all my lovely American readers, you wouldn't call Him "Vice President" as opposed to "President," would you?

Shemot (Exodus) 4:1 "Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice, suppose they say, "Yahuah has not appeared to you."

For a man who grew up on the Egyptian court, it would appear that he's not the most confident man. Interesting, I wonder what sort of background brought that on. Was he teased or bullied? Probably not by any commoner, but by the man who is now Pharaoh? They may have grown up together.

Shemot 4:2-5 "So Yahuah said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A rod.' And He said, 'Cast it on the ground.' So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. Then Yahuah said to Moses, 'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail' (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 'that they may believe that Yahuah Elohim of their fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has appeared to you.'"

How about that?? Wanna bet they'll believe now? He doesn't need to worry or be shy, Moses has Yahuah and He'll guide him through. Also, don't the parentheses look like stage directions? Can you imagine being a kid back in Biblical times, sitting around a campfire and listening to a storyteller as he recounts this passage? The Bible is a ridiculously epic volume, it would be fantastic to tell the kids. Way better than silly ghost stories.

Shemot 4:6-9 "Furthermore Yahuah said to him, 'Now put your hand in your bosom.' And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And He said, 'Put your hand in your bosom again.' So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 'Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.'"

In case you're wondering what was so shocking about Moses putting his hand in his shirt and removing it to find that he temporarily had leprosy... Leprosy is an insane chronic and scary skin disease featuring lesions and shrunken fingers and toes among other scary symptoms. Folklore tells of people with leprosy losing their body parts because they simply fall off, but that's just legend. Limbs do get paralyzed and bad things do happen if left untreated. WebMD says that today there is a cure, but way back when Moses stuck his hand in his shirt and brought it out white and leprous, there was no cure. By the way, that link will take you to their page on leprosy.

Shemot 4:10 "Then Moses said to Yahuah, 'O Yahuah, I am not eloquent, neither before nore since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.'"

Still no confidence? Yahuah has Moses in the palm of His hand. He will carry him through, but Moses is worried about getting tongue-tied?

Shemot 4:11-12 "So Yahuah said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, Yahuah? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.'"

This is too true. If He has a purpose for you like He had one for Moses, He will give you whatever tools you need to follow it through. Also, on a side note, this part of the movie, The Prince of Egypt, is absolutely fantastic. It's beautiful and it sends shivers down my spine and the voice-acting was brilliant. Check it out.

Shemot 4:13 "But he said, 'O Yahuah, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.'"

This is a tricky verse... What exactly is he trying to say? Sounds like he wants Yahuah to pick someone else. Want to bet that He has other things in mind? That you can't just get out of being Yahuah's chosen one by whining and asking for a replacement?

Shemot 4:14-17 "So the anger of Yahuah was kindled against Moses, and He said: 'Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as Elohim. And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.'"

Sorry Moses, you're not talking your way out of this.

Shemot 4:18-20 "So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, 'Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.' And Jethro said to Moses, 'Go in peace.' Now Yahuah said to Moses in Midian, 'Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.' Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of Elohim in his hand."

 A fun-fact my dad recently informed me of: You know how I was wondering why Zipporah's father had two names? One being Reuel and the other being Jethro? Turns out Reuel means something along the lines of "Excellency." He was the high priest of Midian, remember? So Reuel would've been his title, while Jethro was his name.

Shemot 4:21-23 "And Yahuah said to Moses, 'When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, "Thus says Yahuah: 'Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.'"'"

That puts it in perspective, doesn't it?

Shemot 4:24-26 "And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that Yahuah met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, 'Surely you are a husband of blood to me!' So He let him go. Then she said, 'You are a husband of blood!' - because of the circumcision."

Honestly, I have no idea where that came from. Weren't they supposed to take care of that when the boy was 8 days old? I don't know why Yahuah wanted to kill him, and was "he" Moses or was "he" Moses' son? I just don't know... So confused. I should probably try and find a literal translation of the text, but until I do... Yeah. That's all I have on this.

Shemot 4:27-31 "And Yahuah said to Aaron, 'Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.' So he went and met him on the mountain of Elohim, and kissed him. So Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahuah who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him. Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spoke all the words which Yahuah had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in sight of the people. So the people believed; and when they heard that Yahuah had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped."

All is going well! Sadly, there is much to come. The signs won't work on Pharaoh, but they might just wear him down enough that he'll let them go before worst comes to worst, but there's really no telling.

On another note, I'm currently taking a class on the Old Testament at my college, and one thing that I've learned thus far is that there is a chance that the reason why the new Pharaoh at the beginning of Exodus did not know Joseph may have been because he was one of the first Pharaohs of the second dynasty whereas Joseph may have worked with one of the last Pharaohs of the first dynasty. Maybe. Honestly, the dates of things are by no means set in stone, especially since the writer didn't name the Pharaoh.

An observation: Yahuah chose a man who wasn't particularly eloquent to stand up before Egypt and save the Israelites. He chose two women (consider this was before the feminist movement) to save the Israelite baby boys. He chose the second-youngest of a family of twelve men to save the known world. He blessed the younger of a set of twins with all the perks the elder would have gotten otherwise. He gave a 90 year old woman and her 100 year old husband a son. These are only some of the examples we've read about. We're barely two books into the Bible. Yahuah really looks out for the underdog, the ones that we humans don't look at as being particularly impressive. Keep that in mind if you're feeling not-so-impressive. He's looking out for you.

Check out "Eloquent" by Sanctus Real.